SPIRAL DUB - s/t LP

Highly recommended.

Another Album of the Year contender! We were huge fans of SF's Life Stinks on S-S Records - the one responsible for bringing the A Frames to our attention. We've had this self-titled debut on constant repeat. SPIRAL DUB also includes members of DIIV and Fuckwolf.

Recent Album of the Week by Byron Coley.

SPIRAL DUB fancy themselves as "laced party jive," that is "peppered with acid punk nihilism and with bright beams of pop shining through the clouds." That aesthetic informs the look and feel of this motley configuration of indie rockers. In turn, that defines a lot of the tentpoles of this record, infusing a certain sheen and accompanying expectations.

"Rainbow" is every Osees and Ty Segall-adjacent slice of psychedelic garage rock we've heard over the last 15 years. Still, those swirling, lo-fi guitars and super slacker vocals are very much the best instance of this "genre." Meanwhile, "Beginning To Begun" spins more freak folk-ian energies into the mix, and it's a solid example of how a few light touches do wonders for modulating the aesthetic of their deeply nostalgic rock sampling. Even something like "Hang From The Line" works really well -- the fact that it's very much a Pavement jam always feels more joyous and freeing and never like mere sonic aping.

If you only had the first half or so, you might come away thinking that the band had done a pretty good job adding to the deluge of retro-tinted garage rock of this century. That’s certainly true in part because there's just enough oomph musically - a solid chord, a great bridge, some random bit of junk noise - to distinguish these songs while retaining that corresponding glow. But there's a moment - right when track six, "Punch Me In The Face" kicks in - where the band and the album transcend some of those initial confines for some truly elated indie rock.

It's quite amazing to hear, nearly in real-time, the album come together in such a way that you can experience something altogether thrilling.